Spiritual Concepts

As God is beyond description, so is the reality which God sustains. Today's scientists are discovering the mysteries of the physical world and expanding the circle of knowledge at an ever accelerating rate. The circle has no size limit. It is infinite. Our conceptualizations of physical reality are not absolute. All descriptions of reality give way to ever more precise measurement. No description absolutely encompasses what it describes. This is also true of our conceptualizations of spiritual reality. All concepts of spiritual reality such as the soul, resurrection and reincarnation, rebirth, eternal life, the next life, judgment, heaven and hell are limited and subject to refinement.

Expanding our understanding of the reality sustained by God is an aspect of praising God. However, just as it is a mistake to confuse the presence of God with our understanding of Him; it is a mistake to assume our concepts of physical or spiritual reality, derived from science or scripture are reality. They are our conceptualizations and explanations of reality. The following is my layman's attempt at providing continuity to several of the more common spiritual concepts.

Buddhism
Knowing that this body is like foam, and comprehending that it is as unsubstantial as a mirage, one should destroy the flower-tipped shafts of sensual passions [Mara], and pass beyond the sight of the King of death. (Dhammapada 46)

Baha'i Faith
Now observe that in the sensible world appearances are not repeated, for no being in any respect is identical with, nor the same as, another being. The sign of singleness is visible and apparent in all things. If all the granaries of the world were full of grain, you would not find two grains absolutely alike, the same and identical without any distinction. It is certain that there will be differences and distinctions between them. As the proof of uniqueness exists in all things, and the Oneness and Unity of God is apparent in the reality of all things, the repetition of the same appearance is absolutely impossible. (Abdul-Baha. Some Answered Questions, 283)

O ye servants of God! Verily, be not grieved if a thing ye asked of Him remaineth unanswered, inasmuch as He hath been commanded by God to observe silence, a silence which is in truth praiseworthy. We have indeed enabled Thee to truly see in Thy dream a measure of Our Cause, but wert Thou to acquaint them with the hidden Mystery, they would dispute its truth among themselves. Verily Thy Lord, the God of truth, knoweth the very secrets of hearts…. (Selections from the Writings of the Bab, 48).

Confucianism.
Ts'ai-wu said, "I have heard the names kuei and shen, but I do not know what they mean." The Master said, "The [intelligent] spirit is of the shen nature, and shows that in fullest measure; the animal soul is of the kuei nature, and shows that in fullest measure." (Book of Ritual 21.2.1)

Then the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Judaism. Genesis 2.7)

Islam
And He originated the creation of man out of clay, then He fashioned his progeny of an extraction of mean water, then He shaped him, and breathed His spirit in Him. (Qur'an 32.8-9)

Hinduism
Now my breath and spirit goes to the Immortal, and this body ends in ashes; OM. O Mind! Remember. Remember the deeds. Remember the actions. (Isha Upanishad 17)

The Self cannot be pierced with weapons or burned with fire; water cannot wet it, nor can the wind dry it. The Self cannot be pierced or burned, made wet or dry. It is everlasting and infinite, standing on the motionless foundation of eternity. The Self is un-manifested, beyond all thought, beyond all change. Knowing this you should not grieve. (Bhagavad Gita 2.19-25)

The various religious traditions have commented on the nature of the soul, referring to it as primary and the body as secondary. "The body is the sheath of the soul" (Judaism. Talmud, Sanhedrin 108a). The human soul is immortal. It is the essence of human life that returns to its creator after the death of the body. "The dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it" (Judaism. Ecclesiastes 12.7). "Now my breath and spirit goes to the Immortal, and this body ends in ashes…" (Hinduism. Isha Upanishad 17).

The human soul is beyond comprehension. God makes Himself known to man yet exists infinitely beyond the knowledge of man. Man is in everlasting pursuit of God and is a reflection of the infinite mystery of God in that man has unlimited capacity to approach God. It is appropriate to seek an understanding of the nature of the soul as it is appropriate to seek an understanding of the nature of God. It is a mistake to think that the soul can be completely understood, characterized, or limited to description just as it is a mistake to think an understanding of God is God. Any conception of the soul is a limited view of an eternal reality.

The Self cannot be pierced with weapons or burned with fire; water cannot wet it, nor can the wind dry it. The Self cannot be pierced or burned, made wet or dry. It is everlasting and infinite, standing on the motionless foundation of eternity. The Self is un-manifested, beyond all thought, beyond all change. Knowing this you should not grieve. (Hinduism. Bhagavad Gita 2.19-25)

A further testament to the indescribable nature of the soul is the reality of uniqueness. Conceptualization is by its nature a limited intellectual approach to understanding the uniqueness of all reality. As there are not two snowflakes alike, there are not two souls alike.

Now observe that in the sensible world appearances are not repeated, for no being in any respect is identical with, nor the same as, another being. The sign of singleness is visible and apparent in all things. If all the granaries of the world were full of grain, you would not find two grains absolutely alike, the same and identical without any distinction. It is certain that there will be differences and distinctions between them. As the proof of uniqueness exists in all things, and the Oneness and Unity of God is apparent in the reality of all things, the repetition of the same appearance is absolutely impossible. (Baha'i Faith. Abdul-Baha. Some Answered Questions. 283)

Each being is unique and has a unique approach to God; an approach which itself contains infinite possibilities.
There are an infinite number of states of being if viewed in terms of uniqueness. It can be helpful from our human perspective, to conceptualize being in five categorical states. The first, which has been referred to in some scriptures as the animal state, is blindly subject to the cause and effect world. The animal nature does not have access to a rational or objective place to stand outside of experience. This is the realm of least resistance, where a being does what is desirable under the circumstances without conscious analysis or choice. The second state is the rational soul. This state of being enjoys a modicum of independence from experience in that it can conceptualize and objectify it. This is the realm of logic and mathematics as well as metaphor and simile. It is also the realm of conscience. Confucian scriptures refers to these two states as kuei and shen.

Ts'ai-wu said, "I have heard the names kuei and shen, but I do not know what they mean." The Master said, "The [intelligent] spirit is of the shen nature, and shows that in fullest measure; the animal soul is of the kuei nature, and shows that in fullest measure." (Confucianism. Book of Ritual 21.2.1)

The third state is unity with reality. It is the state of the realization of reality. This is the realm of transcendence, self awareness, unity, and awareness of the reality of God. It is the realm that receives revelation. It is the state that has awareness of the eternal nature of being. "Man wails over the loss of what he calls his: Know, the self is not perishable" (Sikhism. Adi Granth, Gauri, M.5, 188).

The forth state of being is that of the Messenger of God. The Messenger is God making His own Self known. This is the realm of the word of God. It is the state that provides revelation. "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me [Moses] from among you, from your brethren - him you shall heed" (Christianity. Deuteronomy 18:15). This state of being is available for us to perceive with our being. The Messenger speaks as God to the human soul and initiates a religious dispensation.

The fifth state of being is beyond all knowledge or access. It is the state of being God - the self-subsistent, the unknowable.

Buddhism
The supreme, complete enlightenment is the realm of Nirvana. The realm of Nirvana is the Dharma-body of the Tathagata [the Eternal Buddha]. Attaining the absolute Dharma-body is [attaining] the absolute One Vehicle. (Lion's Roar of Queen Srimala 5).

Sooner, do I declare, would a one-eyed turtle, if he were to pop up to the surface of the sea only once at the end of every hundred years, chance to push his neck through a yoke with one hole than would a fool, who has once gone to the Downfall, be reborn as a man. (Samyutta Nikaya v.455)

The outward form, brethren, of him who has won the truth stands before you, but that which binds it to rebirth is cut in twain. (Digha Nikaya: Brahmajala Sutta)

Baha'i Faith
Moreover, this material world has not such value or such excellence that man, after having escaped from this cage, will desire a second time to fall into this snare. No, through the Eternal Bounty the worth and true ability of man becomes apparent and visible by traversing the degrees of existence, and not by returning. (Abdul-Baha. Some Answered Questions. 286)

Christianity
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die." (John 11:25)

So it is with the resurrection from the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown in a physical body, it is raised in a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15:40-44)

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things. (John 3:11-12)

Hinduism
His next birth is regulated by the deeds of the present life - the deeds which make up his character. If his character is dominated by light, he achieves a higher birth, that of a deva or of a sage; if by passion, he is returned to earth as a demon or as a man; and if by darkness he is born from the lower wombs. (Srimad Bhagavatam 11.15)

In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man asked Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to warn his relatives not to neglect the admonitions of Moses and the prophets as he had done in his callousness to Lazarus. "And [Abraham] said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead" (Christianity. Luke 16:31).

The concept of resurrection is currently the focus of attention for many Christians who are expecting the return of Christ. If the resurrection is understood in terms associated with our physical nature, it would mean that resurrection refers to the physical body returning to life. In the context of the end times, it would mean the physical resurrection of the bodies of all of those who have been "saved" over all of human history. From this perspective, Jesus conquered death in a physical resurrection and those who have believed that literal statement have been "saved" and will be physically resurrected upon His return. The return of Christ is seen as a physical return of the body and person of Jesus when all of the believers from over the centuries will physically be resurrected on the earth.

If, however, resurrection refers to the state of being the Messenger of God, the word of God that conquers death; being "saved" refers to waking to the presence of God as He makes Himself known through His Messengers. "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die'" (Christianity. John 11:25). Those who have experienced the presence of God have experienced eternal life. They know the eternal nature of their own beings. They have truly believed in and given praise to God. From this perspective, resurrection for the individual is the recognition of the Messenger of God. "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven" (Christianity. John 3:13). Jesus is not talking about His physical body going up and down from heaven. He makes this clear by saying that He is in heaven even though He is right in front of them on the earth.

Our responsibility with respect to resurrection is to recognize the Messenger. Recognition provides eternal life. It is the state of being in the presence of God. Being "saved" in this context is the realization of eternal life in the presence of God. The human soul can have this experience in this world and the next. An individual can still be on this earth in a physical body and experience the presence of God. The death of the body is still going to happen, but the soul already knows eternal life. The sting of death is gone. The confusion between the death of the body and that of the soul has been removed. The soul is no longer dead to the presence of God.

So it is with the resurrection from the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown in a physical body, it is raised in a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. (Christianity. 1 Corinthians 15:40-44)

The body is born of passions and is perishable. The soul, born to the presence of God, is raised to a glorious station, which is the realization of its imperishable nature before the presence of God. We have a physical nature or body that is perishable, and we have a spiritual nature or body that is imperishable. Resurrection is being in the presence of the Messenger of God.

Many of the concepts associated with both resurrection and reincarnation derive from applying a physical explanation to spiritual reality. As the resurrection from the grave in the end times of the bodies of all of the Christians who died over the centuries is an understanding of resurrection in physical terms, the return of an individual in another body to this world after death is a literalized, physical understanding of reincarnation.

For many, the literal concept of reincarnation is a positive, comforting one. It replaces the spiritual concept of reincarnation as cyclical attachments to temporal phenomenon with a literal interpretation - multiple lifetimes on this earth. The physical concept of reincarnation substitutes the threat of the unknown worlds after death with return to the known physical world, where a gradual approach to God can occur over many lifetimes. It is similar to the concept of a physical resurrection in that both are a preference for the material world over the spiritual world. A final resolution to the difficulties of life is imagined in physical terms.

For those that delight in the spiritual pleasure of nearness to God, the literalized concepts of resurrection and reincarnation are infinitely less comforting than the fulfillment experienced in the presence of God. The concepts of reincarnation and resurrection can be understood in spiritual terms: reincarnation as attachment to the endless cycles of desire and death associated with human appetite; resurrection as ascendance to the spiritual presence of God.

The concept of reincarnation, if viewed as a description of attachment to the lower, physical states of existence, is not a desirable state. The desired state requires freedom from cycles of attachment to objects of desire. "Whosoever seeks, by whatever means, merely the happiness of cyclic existence for personal ends, he is to be understood as a mean person" (Buddhism. Bodhipathapradipa). Reincarnation can be understood as a concept describing attachment to the temporal world over the experience of enlightenment or the presence of God. Everything in the physical world is subject to change - the death of one composition gives rise to the birth of another. For human consciousness that is fettered to the physical world, attachments are continuously cycling through birth and death as one attachment gives way to another. "On some by His Law falls grace; others by His Law are whirled around in cycles of births and deaths" (Sikhism. Adi Granth, Japuji 2, M.1, p.1).

Scripture often uses physical descriptions as metaphor for spiritual experience since the spiritual worlds are not subject to literal description. Jesus refers to the difficulty of teaching about spiritual reality when He said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things" (Christianity. John 3:11-12). Jesus refers to the difficulty of accepting His guidance concerning earthly and heavenly things. Of the two, spiritual lessons are harder to teach. It is easier to listen with the intellect than with the spirit. The intellect understands through physical experience and reason. The spirit acknowledges being. Both experience the same reality, but through different faculties. It is similar to the perception of an object through different senses. A bowl, perceived through sight and touch, is the same bowl, but the perception is very different.

The scriptures of all of the religious traditions instruct that our existence is ultimately satisfied only by knowing God. "The supreme, complete enlightenment is the realm of Nirvana. The realm of Nirvana is the Dharma-body of the Tathagata [the Eternal Buddha]. Attaining the absolute Dharma-body is [attaining] the absolute One Vehicle" (Buddhism. Lion's Roar of Queen Srimala 5). Texts from the scriptures of all of the religions encourage seeking the presence of God through the Messenger (the Tathagata) rather than pursuing material gratification. "The outward form, brethren, of him who has won the truth stands before you, but that which binds it to rebirth is cut in twain" (Buddhism. Digha Nikaya: Brahmajala Sutta). Spiritual reality transcends and is preferable to material existence. The following Buddhist passage reiterates the unenlightened nature of attachment to the concept of physical rebirth.

Sooner, do I declare, would a one-eyed turtle, if he were to pop up to the surface of the sea only once at the end of every hundred years, chance to push his neck through a yoke with one hole than would a fool, who has once gone to the Downfall, be reborn as a man. (Buddhism. Samyutta Nikaya v.455)

It is extremely improbable that even a fool would choose to be reborn to the physical world after suffering death and being born to the spiritual world. The following Baha'i scripture reaffirms the sentiment.

Moreover, this material world has not such value or such excellence that man, after having escaped from this cage, will desire a second time to fall into this snare. No, through the Eternal Bounty the worth and true ability of man becomes apparent and visible by traversing the degrees of existence, and not by returning. (Baha'i Faith. Abdul-Baha. Some Answered Questions, p. 286)

The concept of reincarnation also serves as a mechanism for describing justice. It is a way to explain the obvious inequities among people in the physical world. The following passage from Hindu writings is a view of reincarnation as a mechanism of justice.

His next birth is regulated by the deeds of the present life - the deeds which make up his character. If his character is dominated by light, he achieves a higher birth, that of a deva or of a sage; if by passion, he is returned to earth as a demon or as a man; and if by darkness he is born from the lower wombs. (Hinduism. Srimad Bhagavatam 11.15)

As a concept of justice, reincarnation can be understood in terms of the consequences of choices. Our choices affect the nature of our unfolding situations. We reap what we sow. The scriptural passage above serves as a warning against unjust behavior. It presents a milder version of scriptural warning than those found in images of hell and retribution. If interpreted as metaphor, it can be understood as receiving the higher, spiritual levels of consciousness associated with the station of a sage or deva for choices dominated by light or goodness, whether in this world or the next. The levels of consciousness associated with passions are described as being human or demonic. Those dominated by darkness or evil intentions are described as animalistic. Justice is served as attachments at the various levels reveal their consequences. Loss and regret accompany attachment to the mutable realms of human and animal desires. The spiritual realms of goodness and light never perish.

Buddhism
Today I indeed know that I am really a son of Buddha, born from the mouth of Buddha, evolved from the Law, and have obtained a place in the Buddha-law. (Lotus Sutra 3)

Christianity
To all who received him [Jesus], who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)

Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I say to you, "'You must be born anew.'" (John 3:5-6)

Hinduism
Of him who gives natural birth and him who gives the knowledge of the Veda, the giver of the Veda is the more venerable father; for the birth for the sake of the Veda ensures eternal rewards both in this life and after death. (Laws of Manu 2.146)

Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I say to you, 'You must be born anew.'" (Christianity. John 3:5-6)

The terms Jesus uses to describe the second birth are water and spirit. Water can be understood as the act of purification. John the Baptist baptized with water. Purification did not take place because the water cleaned the body; purification is derived from an act of repentance. Recognition of the Messenger and admission that His way is better than our way are required to realize a relationship with Him. "To all who received him [Jesus], who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh nor the will of man, but of God" (Christianity. John 1:12-13). Repentance, submission to God, is a prerequisite to reunion - being born of the spirit. The kingdom of God is the word of God, the presence of God. Entrance requires willing submission to the will of God. "Repentance makes man a new creature; hitherto dead through sin, he is fashioned afresh" (Judaism. Midrash Psalms 18).

The metaphor of birth is also used in the Buddhist scriptures to refer to submission to the will of God. "Today I indeed know that I am really a son of Buddha, born from the mouth of Buddha, evolved from the Law, and have obtained a place in the Buddha-law" (Buddhism. Lotus Sutra 3). The word of God proceeds from the mouth of the Messenger. It is the law of God. Willingness to listen to and obey the law of God is a birth "from the mouth of Buddha."

The Hindu scriptures also use birth as a metaphor for spiritual enlightenment. "Of him who gives natural birth and him who gives the knowledge of the Veda, the giver of the Veda is the more venerable father; for the birth for the sake of the Veda ensures eternal rewards both in this life and after death" (Hinduism. Laws of Manu 2.146). Knowledge of the Veda is a birth into eternal life whether the individual is in this life or the next. The Veda is the word of God. It is the kingdom of God. It is eternal.

Hinduism
From the unreal lead me to the Real! From darkness lead me to light! From death lead me to immortality! (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28)

The Self cannot be pierced with weapons or burned with fire; water cannot wet it, nor can the wind dry it. The Self cannot be pierced or burned, made wet or dry. It is everlasting and infinite, standing on the motionless foundation of eternity. The Self is unmanifested, beyond all thought, beyond all change. Knowing this, you should not grieve. (Bhagavad Gita 2.19-25)

Islam
Those who have faith and do righteous deeds, they are the best of creatures. Their reward is with God: Gardens of Eternity, beneath which rivers flow; they will dwell therein forever; God well pleased with them, and they with Him; all this for such as fear their Lord and Cherisher. (Qur'an 98.7-8)

Baha'i Faith
O Son of Man! Thou art My dominion and My dominion perisheth not; wherefore fearest thou thy perishing? Thou art My light and My light shall never be extinguished; why dost thou dread extinction? Thou art My glory and My glory fadeth not; thou art My robe and My robe shall never be outworn. Abide then in thy love for Me, that thou mayest find Me in the realm of glory. (Hidden Words: From the Arabic, no. 14, 7)

O Son of Worldliness! Pleasant is the realm of being, wert thou to attain thereto; glorious is the domain of eternity, shouldst thou pass beyond the world of mortality; sweet is the holy ecstasy if thou drinkest of the mystic chalice from the hands of the celestial Youth. Shouldst thou attain this station, thou wouldst be freed from destruction and death, from toil and sin. (Hidden Words: From the Persian, no. 70, 46)

Birth is not a beginning; death is not an end. There is existence without limitation; there is continuity without a starting point. Existence without limitation is space. Continuity without a starting point is time. There is birth, there is death, there is issuing forth, there is entering in. That through which one passes in and out without seeing its form, that is the Portal of God. (Chuang Tzu 23)

Zoroastriansim
Then do I proclaim what the Most Beneficent spoke to me, the Words to be heeded, which are best for mortals: those who shall give hearing and reverence shall attain unto perfection and immortality by the deeds of good spirit of the Lord of Wisdom! (Avesta, Yasna 45.5)

Jainism
The supreme stage of the Soul is free from birth, old age and death; he is supreme, pure, and devoid of eight karmas; he possesses infinite knowledge, intuition, bliss, and potency; he is indivisible, indestructible, and inexhaustible. (Kundakaunda, Niyamasara 176-77)

Buddhism
Even ornamented royal chariots wear out. So too the body reaches old age. But the Dhamma of the Good grows not old. Thus do the Good reveal it among the Good. (Dhammapada 151)

All of the Messengers refer to the transcendent nature of the human soul. It is eternal. In Jainism eternal life is referred to as a stage of the soul. "The supreme stage of the Soul is free from birth, old age and death; he is supreme, pure, and devoid of eight karmas; he possesses infinite knowledge, intuition, bliss, and potency; he is indivisible, indestructible, and inexhaustible" (Jainism. Kundakaunda, Niyamasara 176-77). Realization of the soul's eternal nature is an experience available in this life and the next. The Baha'i Faith refers to the realm of being as a station free from death.

O Son of Worldliness! Pleasant is the realm of being, wert thou to attain thereto; glorious is the domain of eternity, shouldst thou pass beyond the world of mortality; sweet is the holy ecstasy if thou drinkest of the mystic chalice from the hands of the celestial Youth. Shouldst thou attain this station, thou wouldst be freed from destruction and death, from toil and sin. (Baha'i Faith. Hidden Words: From the Persian 70)

The exalted nature of the realm of being is contingent upon making an effort to attain it. The station can be attained by drinking from the "mystic chalice" provided by the Messenger - the "celestial Youth." Attainment requires a choice to forgo attachment to the mortal world for that of a relationship with the Messenger of God. Zoroastrian scripture also refers to the need for an effort to attain eternal life. We are instructed to give "hearing and reverence" to the "Words to be heeded" if we are to "attain unto perfection and immortality." (Zoroastrianism. Avesta, Yasna 45.5) The Taoist understands attainment to the eternal by "being in accord with the Tao" - which is heaven, the way (Taoism. Tao Te Ching 16). Attainment requires effort according to the Qur'an as well. "Those who have faith and do righteous deeds, they are the best of creatures. Their reward is with God: Gardens of Eternity, beneath which rivers flow; they will dwell therein forever; God well pleased with them, and they with Him; all this for such as fear their Lord and Cherisher" (Islam. Qur'an 98.7-8).

Islam
Wealth and sons are the adornment of the present world; but the abiding things, the deeds of righteousness, are better with God in reward, and better in hope. (Qur'an 18.46)

Hinduism
As a man passes from dream to wakefulness, so does he pass at death from this life to the next. (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.3.35)

Giving no pain to any creature, a person should slowly accumulate spiritual merit for the sake of acquiring a companion in the next world….For in the next world neither father, nor mother, nor wife, nor sons, nor relations stay to be his companions; spiritual merit alone remains with him. (Laws of Manu 4.238-39)

Judaism
Better is one hour of repentance and good works in this world than all the life of the World to Come, and better is one hour of calmness of spirit in the World to come than all the life of this world. (Mishnah, Abot 4.22)

Confucianism
Tzu-lu asked how one should serve ghosts and spirits. The Master said, "Till you have learnt to serve men, how can you serve ghosts?" Tzu-lu then ventured upon a question about the dead. The Master said, "Till you know about the living, how are you to know about the dead?" (Analects 11.11)

Sikhism
O shrewd businessman, do only profitable business: deal only in that commodity which shall accompany you after death. (Adi Granth, Sri Raga, M.1, 22)

Buddhism
Relatives and friends and well-wishers rejoice at the arrival of a man who had been long absent and has returned home safely from afar. Likewise, meritorious deeds will receive the good person upon his arrival in the next world, as relatives welcome a dear one on his return. (Dhammapada 219-20)

Christianity
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for your selves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)

"As a man passes from dream to wakefulness, so does he pass at death from this life to the next" (Hinduism. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.3.35). We all make that transition. The scriptures advise us about the nature of the next world and its relationship to our actions in this world. The primary admonishment central to all of the scriptures with respect to following the ways of God is to treat others as we would be treated. The "golden rule" is the fulcrum for determining between good and bad action. All of the scriptures admonish us to do what is good. The benefits of following the advice of the Messengers accrue in this life and the next. "Better is one hour of repentance and good works in this world than all the life of the World to come, and better is one hour of calmness of spirit in the World to come than all the life of this world" (Judaism. Mishnah, Abot 4.22). Repentance is the act of returning to a relationship with God. It requires a willingness to admit that God's way is better than insistence on our way. "Even ornamented royal chariots wear out. So too the body reaches old age. But the Dhamma of the Good grows not old. Thus do the Good reveal it among the Good" (Buddhism. Dhammapada 151).

In the next life good works performed in this life accompany us. "Relatives and friends and well-wishers rejoice at the arrival of a man who had been long absent and has returned home safely from afar. Likewise, meritorious deeds will receive the good person upon his arrival in the next world, as relatives welcome a dear one on his return" (Buddhism. Dhammapada 219-20). "Giving no pain to any creature, a person should slowly accumulate spiritual merit for the sake of acquiring a companion in the next world….For in the next world neither father, nor mother, nor wife, nor sons, nor relations stay to be his companions; spiritual merit sons, nor relations stay to be his companions; spiritual merit 39). "Wealth and sons are the adornment of the present world; but the abiding things, the deeds of righteousness, are better with God in reward, and better in hope" (Islam. Qur'an 18.46). "O shrewd businessman, do only profitable business: deal only in that commodity which shall accompany you after death" (Sikhism. Adi Granth, Sri Raga, M.1, 22).

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for your selves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Christianity, Matthew 6:19-21)

Freedom from attachment to this world is a gift of the presence of God that serves us both in this world and the next.

Jainism
Men who acquire wealth by evil deeds, by adhering to principles which are wrong, fall into the trap of their own passions and fettered with karma they sink further down. (Uttaradhyayana Sutra 4.2)

Islam And in the Hereafter there is grievous punishment, and forgiveness from God and good pleasure; whereas the present life is but the joy of delusion. (Qur'an 57.20)

And let not those who disbelieve imagine that the rein We give them bodes good for their souls. We only give them rein that they may grow in sinfulness. And theirs will be a shameful doom. ( Qur'an 3.178)

Sikhism
Brother! Behold the Creator's justice: As are a man's actions, so is his recompense. (Adi Granth, Gauri Var, M.4, 308)

Buddhism
As sweet as honey is an evil deed, so thinks the fool so long as it ripens not; but when it ripens, then he comes to grief…. An ignorant man committing evil deeds does not realize the consequences. The imprudent man is consumed by his own deeds, like one burnt by fire. (Dhammapada 69, 136)

Not in the sky, nor in mid-ocean, nor in a mountain cave, is found that place on earth where abiding one may escape from the consequences of one's evil deed. (Dhammapada 127)

Hinduism
Even if they attain to sovereignty, the wicked, engaged in cruel deeds, condemned by all men, do not enjoy it long, but fall like trees whose roots have been severed. O dweller in darkness, as in its proper season the tree puts forth its flowers, so in the course of time evil actions produce bitter fruit. (Ramayana, Aranya Kanda 29)

Unrighteousness, practiced in this world, does not at once produce its fruit; but, like a cow, advancing slowly, it cuts off the roots of him who committed it. (Laws of Manu 4.172)

The scriptures warn us of an accounting for our actions. "And in the Hereafter there is grievous punishment, and forgiveness from God and good pleasure; whereas the present life is but the joy of delusion" (Islam. Qur'an 57.20). We will reap what we sow. "Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" (Christianity. Galatians 6:7). "For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind" (Judaism. Hosea 8.7). The choice to disregard God's admonitions results in our attachment to a self-insistent, isolated existence. "Men who acquire wealth by evil deeds, by adhering to principles which are wrong, fall into the trap of their own passions and fettered with karma they sink further down" (Jainism. Uttaradhyayana Sutra 4.2).

God's justice is not always apparent in the affairs of humankind. The temporal perspective does not divulge the whole picture. Reality unfolds over time for humankind.

As sweet as honey is an evil deed, so thinks the fool so long as it ripens not; but when it ripens, then he comes to grief…. An ignorant man committing evil deeds does not realize the consequences. The imprudent man is consumed by his own deeds, like one burnt by fire. (Buddhism. Dhammapada 69, 136)

"And let not those who disbelieve imagine that the rein We give them bodes good for their souls. We only give them rein that they may grow in sinfulness. And theirs will be a shameful doom" (Islam. Qur'an 3.178). The transgressions that we are permitted to accumulate form a barrier between ourselves and God. "Unrighteousness, practiced in this world, does not at once produce its fruit; but, like a cow, advancing slowly, it cuts off the roots of him who committed it" (Hinduism. Laws of Manu 4.172).

Even if they attain to sovereignty, the wicked, engaged in cruel deeds, condemned by all men, do not enjoy it long, but fall like trees whose roots have been severed. O dweller in darkness, as in its proper season the tree puts forth its flowers, so in the course of time evil actions produce bitter fruit. (Hinduism. Ramayana, Aranya Kanda 29)

To the degree that we disregard the counsel of the Messengers and follow inclinations that cause harm to ourselves and others we dwell in darkness. We are severed from the light. The separation becomes a bitter fruit as we are drawn toward an awareness of God and our eternal nature.

God makes it clear that there is no place to hide from His justice. "Not in the sky, nor in mid-ocean, nor in a mountain cave, is found that place on earth where abiding one may escape from the consequences of one's evil deed" (Buddhism. Dhammapada 127). "The net of Heaven is cast wide. Though the mesh is not fine, yet nothing ever slips through" (Taoism. Tao Te Ching 73).

Christianity
You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant. (Hebrews 12:22-24)

These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night within his temple; and he who sits upon the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. (Revelation 7:9-17)

As for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)

But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. (John 1:12)

Hinduism
Behold! Between the worlds of mortals and of gods there is no difference! To speak the truth is the world of gods; to speak untruth, the mortal world. Good works is heaven, Bad works is hell; you are the witness, O Lord. (Basavanna, Vacana 239)

Sikhism
Higher than all stands the Realm of Grace - None can have access there except heroes of supreme might, inspired by God-consciousness. In that sphere abide numberless heroines like Sita of surpassing praise and beauty indescribable. Those to God united suffer not mortality nor delusion. In that sphere abide devotees assembled from the various universes, cherishing the holy Eternal ever in their hearts. In everlasting bliss. The formless Supreme Being abides in the Realm of Eternity. Over His creation He casts His glance of grace. In that realm are contained all the continents and universes, Exceeding in number all count. Of creation, worlds upon worlds abide therein - all obedient to His Will; He watches over them in bliss, and has each constantly in mind. Says Nanak, Such is that realm's [glory] that to try to describe it is to attempt the impossible. (Adi Granth, Japuji 37 M.1, 8)

There is a stream of fire from which emerge poisonous flames. There is none else there except the self. The waves of the ocean of fire are aflame and the sinners are burning in them. (Adi Granth, Maru Solahe, M.1, 1026)

And after their lifetime's end they will enter the Avici hell, for a complete kalpa; reborn at each kalpa's end they thus go on revolving unto innumerable kalpas; when they come out of hell, they will degrade into animals, such as dogs or jackals, with lean-cheeked forms, blue-black with scabs and sores, the sport of men; moreover by men hated and scorned, ever suffering hunger and thirst, bones and flesh withered up. Alive, beaten with thorns, dead, with shards and stones; by cutting themselves off from the Buddha seed, they receive such recompense. (Lotus Sutra 3)

Then the man of unwholesome deeds boils in water infested with worms. He cannot stay still - the boiling pots, round and smooth like bowls, have no surfaces which he can get hold of. Then he is in the jungle of sword blades, limbs mangled and hacked, the tongue hauled by hooks, the body beaten and slashed. Then he is in Vetarani, a watery state difficult to get through, with its two streams that cut like razors. The poor beings fall into it, living out their unwholesome deeds of the past. Gnawed by hungry jackals, ravens and black dogs, and speckled vultures and crows, the sufferers groan. Such a state is experienced by the man of unwholesome deeds. It is a state of absolute suffering. So a sensible person in this world is as energetic and mindful as he can be. (Sutta Nipata 672-76)

Judaism
Rabbi Joseph, son of Rabbi Joshua ben Levi, was ill and fell into a coma. When he recovered, his father asked him, "What did you see?" He replied, "I beheld a world the reverse of this one; those who are on top here were below there, and vice versa." He said to him, "My son, you have seen a corrected world. But what is the position of us students of Torah there?" He answered, "We are the same as here. I heard it stated, 'Happy is he who comes here possessed of learning'; and I further heard it said that martyrs occupy an eminence which nobody else can attain." (Talmud, Pesahim 50a)

Islam
Hell is before him, and he is made to drink a festering water, which he sips but can hardly swallow. Death comes to him from every side, yet he cannot die - before him is a harsh doom. (Qur'an 14.15-16)

Hell will lurk in ambush to receive home the arrogant, who will linger there for ages. They will taste nothing cool in it nor any drink except hot bathwater and slops, a fitting compensation since they have never expected any reckoning and have wittingly rejected Our signs. Everything We have calculated in writing. "So taste! Yet We shall only increase torment for you!" (Qur'an 78.21-30)

Taoism
…The king of the dark realm…said to him, "Here the dead receive punishment for their deeds of evil. The living know not the lot that is reserved for them. They must be thrown into a bed of coals whose heat is in proportion to the extent of their crimes and to the harm they have done their fellows." (From Treatise on Response and Retribution, Appended Tales)

Heaven is not a place. It is a state of being whether in this life or the next. It is determined by our choices and the mercy of God. Good works bring us into harmony with the will of God. Self-insistent deeds separate us from the beauty of His reality.

Behold! Between the worlds of mortals and of gods there is no difference! To speak the truth is the world of gods; to speak untruth, the mortal world. Good works is heaven, Bad works is hell; you are the witness, O Lord. (Hinduism. Basavanna, Vacana 239)

Heaven is nearness to God whether in this world or the next. The Messenger is the mediator of the terms required to be in the presence of God, the covenant. Proximity to God is contingent on the terms established by the Messenger. Good works, responding to the will of the Messenger, is heaven. Bad works, following our selfish inclinations, is hell. God's terms or conditions provided by the Messengers, if followed, provide justice in the affairs of human beings. Refusal to abide by the will of God as provided by the Messengers is a denial of justice for others and self and results in the denial of and separation from God, which is hell.

You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant. (Christianity. Hebrews 12:22-24)

The perfection of the spirits of just men is accomplished with assistance provided by the Messengers. Those who recognize the Messenger and follow the guidance of His covenant are the "first-born." They are enrolled in heaven, the kingdom of the word of God.

These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night within his temple; and he who sits upon the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. (Christianity. Revelation 7:9-17)

The perfection of our spirits, changing our disposition with respect to God, is the "great tribulation." Giving up the desires of our hearts which conflict with the will of God looks completely unjust from our self-insistent positions. We generally learn how to do this through our lifetimes. God assists the process through rewards and punishments. On the one hand, He gives us glimpses of Himself and the mercy and justice of His ways. Through His Messengers, He provides us with living examples of submission to His will and the experience of His presence. On the other hand, He shows us the error of our ways by taking away those things that we have chosen over His gifts. The punishment is that we lose both the presence of God and the things that we wanted instead of God. It is the fire of loss and regret. Loss is part of the "great tribulation." Coming through the loss to repentance and the presence of God is heaven.

Most of us work out our salvation through daily battles with our insistent selves. We work our way toward the will of God through the lessons of our lives as we give and take with others. Against the tendency to blatantly give over wholeheartedly to our corrupt inclinations and desires, the scriptures provide warnings. Death will come to this life and with it an end to those things we value above God and justice. A second death will be faced in the next world as we discover the eternal nature of our being and learn about the suffering we caused.

…The king of the dark realm…said to him, "Here the dead receive punishment for their deeds of evil. The living know not the lot that is reserved for them. They must be thrown into a bed of coals whose heat is in proportion to the extent of their crimes and to the harm they have done their fellows. (Taoism. From Treatise on Response and Retribution, Appended Tales)

As for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. (Christianity. Revelation 21:8)

There is a stream of fire from which emerge poisonous flames. There is none else there except the self. The waves of the ocean of fire are aflame and the sinners are burning in them. (Sikhism. Adi Granth, Maru Solahe, M.1.p.1026)

The descriptions of hell in some of the scriptures are very graphic metaphors that tell of the consequences of evil. They act as a warning and as a hedge against our insistent selves in this world. They engage the imagination as a counter balance to the voices of desire and assist in the provision of a position from which to choose between good works and bad. "So a sensible person in this world is as energetic and mindful as he can be" (Buddhism. Sutta Nipata 676). The following Buddhist passages are further examples.

And after their lifetime's end they will enter the Avici hell, for a complete kalpa; reborn at each kalpa's end they thus go on revolving unto innumerable kalpas; when they come out of hell, they will degrade into animals, such as dogs or jackals, with lean-cheeked forms, blue-black with scabs and sores, the sport of men; moreover by men hated and scorned, ever suffering hunger and thirst, bones and flesh withered up. Alive, beaten with thorns, dead, with shards and stones; by cutting themselves off from the Buddha seed, they receive such recompense. (Buddhism. Lotus Sutra 3)

Then the man of unwholesome deeds boils in water infested with worms. He cannot stay still - the boiling pots, round and smooth like bowls, have no surfaces which he can get hold of. Then he is in the jungle of sword blades, limbs mangled and hacked, the tongue hauled by hooks, the body beaten and slashed. Then he is in Vetarani, a watery state difficult to get through, with its two streams that cut like razors. The poor beings fall into it, living out their unwholesome deeds of the past. Gnawed by hungry jackals, ravens and black dogs, and speckled vultures and crows, the sufferers groan. Such a state is experienced by the man of unwholesome deeds. It is a state of absolute suffering. So a sensible person in this world is as energetic and mindful as he can be. (Buddhism. Sutta Nipata 672-76)

These descriptions are metaphors for conditions of being. Literal, material, linear understandings do not encompass reality. For example, experience of hell in the next life is eternal. That does not mean, however, that it is forever in a linear sense. It means that the experience sees no resolution or end. There is no hope. In the next life there is a fuller realization of the eternal nature of our existence. The situation is eternal because it refers to consciousness of the eternal nature of the soul. It is eternal damnation because the soul views eternity from a position of denial. The experience is eternal in that our unrepentant state is aware of our eternal nature. It will persist until the unrepentant position is changed and that is dependent on both the justice and mercy of God.

Hell will lurk in ambush to receive home the arrogant, who will linger there for ages. They will taste nothing cool in it nor any drink except hot bathwater and slops, a fitting compensation since they have never expected any reckoning and have wittingly rejected Our signs. Everything We have calculated in writing. "So taste! Yet We shall only increase torment for you!" (Islam. Qur'an 78.21-30)

The "arrogant," those who reject the will of God, will "linger there for ages." The duration or measure of hell is prescribed by justice according to our offenses. "Whatever affliction may visit you is for what your own hands have earned" (Islam. Qur'an 42.30). "Brother! Behold the Creator's justice: As are a man's actions, so is his recompense" (Sikhism. Adi Granth, Gauri Var, M.4, p. 308).

The next life is a "corrected world." "But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first" (Christianity. Matthew 19:30). Punishment is the mercy of God in that it brings about justice and repentance. To the degree that we have been busy in this life trying to live good lives by gradually conforming our ways to God's through adherence to the admonitions provided by His Messengers in the scriptures, "we are the same as here" when we arrive in the next life. Our happiness is still the pleasure of good works and the presence of God.

Rabbi Joseph, son of Rabbi Joshua ben Levi, was ill and fell into a coma. When he recovered, his father asked him, "What did you see?" He replied, "I beheld a world the reverse of this one; those who are on top here were below there, and vice versa." He said to him, "My son, you have seen a corrected world. But what is the position of us students of Torah there?" He answered, "We are the same as here. I heard it stated, 'Happy is he who comes here possessed of learning'; and I further heard it said that martyrs occupy an eminence which nobody else can attain." (Judaism. Talmud, Pesahim 50a)

In the world that Joseph beheld, the martyrs "occupy an eminence which nobody else can attain." Martyrs give their lives in support of the efforts of the Messengers to save humankind from their remoteness from God. Their love for God is stronger than their inclination to preserve their mortal lives. The "eminence which nobody else can attain" is a description indicating that the state of being is beyond description. It cannot be related to beings confined to mutable and transient realms whether in this world or the next.

Higher than all stands the Realm of Grace - None can have access there except heroes of supreme might, inspired by God-consciousness. In that sphere abide numberless heroines like Sita of surpassing praise and beauty indescribable. Those to God united suffer not mortality nor delusion. In that sphere abide devotees assembled from the various universes, cherishing the holy Eternal ever in their hearts. In everlasting bliss. The formless Supreme Being abides in the Realm of Eternity. Over His creation He casts His glance of grace. In that realm are contained all the continents and universes, Exceeding in number all count. Of creation, worlds upon worlds abide therein - all obedient to His Will; He watches over them in bliss, and has each constantly in mind. Says Nanak, Such is that realm's [glory] that to try to describe it is to attempt the impossible. (Sikhism. Adi Granth, Japuji 37 M.1, p.8)

The station of "those to God united" is reflected in the following verse from Buddhism. "When a son of Buddha fulfils his course, in the world to come he becomes Buddha" (Buddhism. Lotus Sutra 2). Those who cherish "the holy Eternal ever in their hearts" are Buddha in that they are a reflection of the will of God by submission of their own will in His. It is perhaps helpful to note that they are not in this world the person or identity of the Buddha who is the author of a particular religious dispensation. It is similar to Jesus saying that He has given us the power to become "sons of God." "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become sons of God, even to them that believe on His name" (Christianity. John 1:12). In the next life the veils of separation will be removed for the sons of God - the sons of Buddha. The station of unity with the Messenger in the next life is beyond comprehension and expression in terms associated with this life.

This is the realm of full awareness, of utter self-effacement. Even love is no pathway to this region, and longing hath no dwelling here; wherefore is it said, "Love is a veil betwixt the lover and the beloved." Here love becometh an obstruction and a barrier, and all else save Him is but a curtain. The wise Saná'í hath written:

Never the covetous heart shall come to the stealer of hearts,
Never the shrouded soul unite with beauty's rose.

For this is the realm of Absolute Command and is free of all the attributes of earth. (Baha'i Faith. Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys p. 59)